Heroine ϟ Marvel [3]

9.2

CHAPTER TWO

Dread It, Run From It...

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HYPERSPACE

Ana was mesmerised by the tunnel of stars. The bright flares of blue and black and silver radiated all around the X-Wing ship as they soared through the galaxies at lightspeed. Kept them concealed. Protected. It also made Ana focus on something other than the dull pain and aches she felt. As much as she tried to ignore the growing wave of charcoal black spreading from her left wrist and up her forearm, she couldn't. It was a concerning sight. Proxima's black energy lance had rendered her left arm immobile. Senseless. She could twitch her fingers if she really wanted. It just took a lot to flex the tendons to get any movement. Every time she tried to get a spark to form in the centre of her palms, she would fail with a collection of outright curses. Why would they suddenly stop? The plasma energy she inherited from her father liked to test her patience when she wasn't keen on dealing with it then, and now, nothing happened.

She could make out her reflection on the windscreen. Her short hair was disheveled. Scrapes and bruises lined her jaw and nose. Her leather jacket was ripped at the left arm completely, leaving her damaged limb exposed to the chilly air of space. She wanted to hide underneath a warm blanket and rest her eyes for a few minutes. Ana managed to find a folded navy blue blanket in the ship's chamber room earlier though instead gave it to her father. Marcus was shaking against the floor of the ship, arms wrapped around his knees that were pulled up to his chest. Ana didn't know if the shivering was because of the cold or the shock of what he just went through. She didn't ask, and draped it over his shoulders, resting her hands on his shoulders as he sent her a soft smile in thanks.

As Ana looked back at Marcus from the pilot seat, she frowned. He was still wearing Irani's Nova helmet. There was still spots of blood on the side of it. A few scuffs and grazes. Some dirt too. Though the Centurion star in the centre of the helmet was untouched. It held strong. Unlike the person wearing it.

"Marcus..." Ana called out, partly unsure. "Uh, why are you still wearing that thing?"

Marcus looked up from staring at the ground, "It's good for me. Good for Worldmind." He muttered. By keeping the helmet on, it allowed him to remain in a time where the Novas were still prominent in the universe. He wanted to go back to the past, to when Xandar wasn't drifting in pieces towards the suns it used to orbit around and burning up entirely.

"What does it sound like? When it talks?" Ana questioned, spinning around in her pilot seat to face him.

"Irani." Marcus answered with a hint of a smile. "But it's not really her. Just her voice. When a Nova dies, their consciousness, their knowledge, is drawn into the Xandarian Worldmind."

"Does this mean you're a Nova?" Ana squinted thoughtfully.

Marcus shook his head from his place on the floor. "No. I never went through the academy so I don't have a rank. I'm just a friend of theirs. I'm keeping it safe."

"Find out anything about Richard?" Ana asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

"He went missing a couple of years ago, searching for me." Marcus revealed. "He could still be out there. I've just gotta go looking for him."

"That, uh, Cosmic Awareness doesn't tell you if he's alive?"

"It doesn't work that way."

Ana looked down at her clasped hands, and sighed. "I'm sor-"

"Ana, don't." Marcus cut her off, pursing his lips together as he looked at her through the lens of the Nova helmet. "None of what happened is your fault."